Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Delivers Speech at World Economic Forum

On Thursday, 28 January 2011, Aung San Suu Kyi delivered a special message to political and business leaders attending the Annual Meeting in Davos. “We need investments in technology and infrastructure,” she pleaded, as Burma strives for national reconciliation, political stability and economic growth.

Watch the video here.

Burma’s Economy 2010: A Fresh Look at Some Elemental Issues

The serial underperformer of the Asia-­Pacific, Burma’s economy is unbalanced, volatile, and largely without the institutions and qualities necessary to achieve sustainable economic growth and development. Using new and hitherto largely unobtainable data, this paper explores the fundamentals of Burma’s economy, examining concerns over economic growth, public finances, monetary and financial policies, international trade and investment, privatisation actions, and post-­Cyclone Nargis aid. The paper concludes pessimistically as to the likelihood of meaningful change in Burma in the foreseeable future […]

Dissecting the Data: Burma’s Macroeconomy at the Cusp of the 2010 ‘Elections’

Burma’s macroeconomy is unbalanced, unstable and largely without the institutions and attributes necessary to achieve transformational growth. Employing new data and techniques selected to gaze through the characteristic informational fog, this paper aims to examine the fundamentals of Burma’s macroeconomy as it stands at the cusp of the 2010 elections. These elections, already without political credibility, promise little in the way of the reforms Burma needs to achieve economic stability and growth […]

The Economy of Burma/Myanmar on the Eve of the 2010 Elections

This report examines the economy of Burma at a crucial moment in Southeast Asia’s most troubled country. A low-intensity conflict based on ethnic and religious differences has simmered since independence in 1948. The country’s military rulers have been waging an existential struggle with a democratic movement led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi since they repudiated her party’s election victory in 1990. Before the end of 2010, an election will be held that is more about transferring power to a new generation of military officers than making a transition to civilian rule. To focus attention on the economic dimension of peacebuilding in Burma, this report draws on the discussion at a day-long workshop sponsored by USIP’s Center for Sustainable Economies. The workshop brought together experts on key aspects of Burma’s economy and employees from congress and U.S. government departments and agencies directly concerned with U.S. relations with Burma. The workshop sessions focused on macroeconomic policy, the extractive sectors, agriculture, the private sector, trade and investment, and the narcotics economy […]

The Efficacy of Economic Sanctions on Burma

Dr. Turnell argues for economic sanctions against Burma’s military regime by examining some of the commonly-held misconceptions of sanctions. He believes that sanctions imposed upon Burma’s military regime by the […]

Opportunities and Pitfalls: Preparing for Burma’s Economic Transition

The Burma Project/Southeast Initiative has published Opportunities and Pitfalls: Preparing for Burma’s Economic Transition, a report by Yuki Akimoto.

Opportunities and Pitfalls covers key topics addressed at the conference regarding Burma’s prospective economic transition and the role of IFIs. The report contains case studies of other countries that have dealt with IFIs and their prescriptions for development, highlighting issues and circumstances that Burma shares with those countries.

Forward-looking and accessible, this report promises to stir practical debate about how Burma should manage the challenges of working with IFIs when these institutions become fully engaged there […]

Multilateral Development Banks and Burma: A Resource Book from the Bank Information Center

Multilateral development banks, or MDBs, are a significant source of economic assistance for developing countries. MDBs lend tens of billions of dollars to low and middle income countries each year. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans $5 to 6 billion a year to its borrowing countries. If and when the MDBs decide to resume engagement with Burma, they could be a very large source of financial support for Burma’s development agenda.

Many of those in the movement to promote democracy in Burma have engaged in debates and discussions about whether or not economic assistance should be extended to the military regime. The Resource Book is meant to help expand this discussion to include the issue of multilateral assistance from MDBs […]